Apple Valley Crisp. Black Dirt Blast. Warwick Whirl. Wildcat Wildberry.

Would Warwick ice cream by any other name be as sweet? Warwick — April 1 was much more than April Fool’s Day here in Warwick. We had a touch of warm weather, bright sunshine, and most important, the Bellvale Creamery opened for the season. Warwick’s quintessential ice cream stop at the top of Mt. Peter is now dishing the cold stuff, so summer can’t be too far away. Steven DeBuck, Jessica Sidoti and Laura Walter have an even bigger interest in the Creamery this spring than just the great-tasting ice cream. The three are conducting a marketing plan for the Future Farmer’s of America state convention in May. Their project? Create a marketing plan for a new flavor of ice cream at the Creamery, a flavor that represents the people of Warwick. “Nancy Colgan, our FFA advisor and agriculture teacher at Warwick Valley High School, asked if anyone wanted to complete and do a marketing plan at the convention,” said DeBuck a senior. “We’ve never done this before but we thought it would be fun. We want to create a flavor representative of our hometown.” The three put an ad in the local papers for naming suggestions. They received well over 100 entries and whittled that list down to five finalists: Appalachian Pit Stop, Apple Valley Crisp, Black Dirt Blast, Warwick Whirl and Wildcat Wildberry. The Village of Warwick Board of Trustees cast their votes for one; the Warwick Town Board will cast their votes as well. Then it’s the Creamery’s turn. Amy Nobeboon will experiment and come up with two new flavors matching the top two names voted on by the elected officials. The Creamery will hold a taste test on Thursday evening, April 19, from 6-8 p.m. Everyone is invited to come to the Creamery, take a taste, and cast a vote for the best one. “The community gets to decide on the new hometown flavor,” added DeBuck. He and his two FFA colleagues will survey the participants and then come up with a marketing plan to make the Creamery more appealing to folks and to promote the new Warwick flavor. DeBuck, a resident of Pine Island, admits that his favorite is Black Dirt Blast, while Sidoti is partial to Appalachian Pit Stop. But it is the town and village boards that will choose the names; the public will eventually choose the flavor. The three Warwick Valley High School students will then take their entire project to the Future Farmer’s of America convention from May 10-12. “It is the first time we’re doing this project,” said DeBuck. “It has been fun to work with the Creamery.”